Doctors tested both the mother and child for oxycodone and other opioids, but found no traces of these drugs in their urine. When asked if she used any substance during pregnancy, the woman denied using anything — legal or otherwise. Her husband, however, told doctors she drank kratom tea to treat withdrawal symptoms. Because kratom was the only potential substance in her system, doctors thought it may have been the cause of the child's symptoms.

Some experts, including doctors, have praised the potential of kratom to help with addiction. In an October congressional briefing hosted by the American Kratom Association, Dr. Margaret Smith Chisolm, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins, submitted a statement lauding the positive impact the supplement has had on her son, who suffers from opioid use disorder.

"I am actually terrified about the possibility of a kratom ban and its effects on my own son and family," she wrote. "After four years of languishing (two prior to buprenorphine treatment, and two during buprenorphine treatment), my son is finally beginning to flourish. Kratom is his lifeline. Without that, he will be at high risk of illicit drug use, overdose, and death - as will thousands of others in this country."

Despite the pros, kratom comes with some potentially deadly side effects